Man sent to prison for child molestation

A Flathead County man is headed to prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl and admitting a problem handling sexual urges that led him to inappropriately touch at least two other women.

Benjamin Alesehir Lacayo, 39, was sentenced to 20 years in Montana State Prison with 13 years suspended for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl on two separate occasions. Lacayo apologized for his crime at the sentencing in a teary and emotional statement.

“I wish I could take it all back,” Lacayo said, adding that he was sexually abused by multiple people as a child. Lacayo said that there was something “sexually wrong” with him. He admitted to having inappropriate sexual contact with at least two other women and prosecutors questioned whether consent was given in a third incident where Lacayo admitted having sex with a woman who was passed out drunk.

A sex-offender evaluation found that Lacayo should be designated a Level II offender, at moderate risk to reoffend. Flathead District Judge Robert Allison noted that he rarely saw offenders with a Level II designation and he had never seen anyone at the highest level Level III.

“We don’t see very many designations of Level II, most offenders we see are Level I,” Allison said.

Prosecutor John Donovan argued for a 20-year prison sentence with 10 years suspended.

Donovan pointed out that while Lacayo eventually admitted to his transgressions, the victim had to come forward in order for the abuse to stop.

“We don’t know how much longer this abuse would have occurred,” Donovan said.

Defense attorney Gary Crowe argued that Lacayo should not be sentenced to more than four or five years in prison, the sentences for two men recently sentenced in Flathead District Court for similar crimes.

Allison pointed out that one of the cases involved a sentencing done by another judge. Allison said that while he tries to be consistent in his sentencing of convicts, he does not feel bound by the sentencing decisions of other judges.

“I do try to follow a pattern within my own department,” Allison said.

Each individual case also has a unique set of facts to weigh, Allison explained.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.